[Raj]

I recently inherited some guns from a friend who passed away. The guns have been in a safe, left with me 25 years ago, and have been preserved and not fired during that time, if ever. Most of the IDs have been pretty straightforward, but the Luger has defeated me. There are just too many variables for ID and evaluation and I don’t have the knowledge and experience to do the job. Hoping somebody can help me to identify the Luger, and assess its condition (and of the holster and two magazines) and values. Photos will be attached and a second thread posted if there are too many for one thread. Thank you in advance.
John

 

[BlackEagle]

Welcome to TFF, Raj. You'll find lots of help here.

Pictures are mandatory before our experts can give you an ideas. You can add pictures to this thread.

Please check out this when you are ready to post...
https://www.thefirearmsforum.com/threads/important-please-read-before-posting.14493/

 

[gdmoody]

Yep, those pictures are pretty much essential, especially on a Luger. Good clear closeup pictures of every marking on the thing plus general pictures of the top, bottom, front, back and each side are going to be needed.

You do not need to start a second thread to add additional pictures. You are allowed 10 pictures per post, so just drop down and do another post, and if needed a third or fourth one.

 

[Raj]

Welcome to TFF, Raj. You'll find lots of help here.

Pictures are mandatory before our experts can give you an ideas. You can add pictures to this thread.

Please check out this when you are ready to post...
https://www.thefirearmsforum.com/threads/important-please-read-before-posting.14493/

Yep, those pictures are pretty much essential, especially on a Luger. Good clear closeup pictures of every marking on the thing plus general pictures of the top, bottom, front, back and each side are going to be needed.

You do not need to start a second thread to add additional pictures. You are allowed 10 pictures per post, so just drop down and do another post, and if needed a third or fourth one.

Thanks for the reply, BlackEagle and Gdmoody. I was posting from an iPhone and had trouble with photo conversions. I’ve moved over to a laptop and hope to have the pics up soon.

 

[Raj]

 

[Raj]

 

[Raj]

Next the holster and magazines. unfortunately, the magazine with the best wood won't hold the breech open for some reason. neither has numbers matching the pistol.

 

[Raj]

 

[Raj]

That's about it. if you need more information, pls let me know (the bore is clean, shiny and looks great.)

 

[gdmoody]

We do have some Luger experts that hang around but I am not one of them (not even close) but I will tell you what little I know. It was made by DWM - Deutsche Waffen-und Munitionsfabriken (German Weapons and Munitions Works) headquartered in Berlin.

It was not used by the military because it has NO military proof marks on it. The two proofs that I see are Commercial proof marks. It was made to be exported which is why it says GERMANY on the side of it.

I can't say for sure but it looks like it has been reblued at some time in its life, that is just my opinion because the marking are not "crisp". There is no way to tell when it was made by the serial number because of the way they were used. Serial numbers started with 1 and ran through 9999, then they started over. I will not even venture a guess on value.

Hopefully some of the real experts will show up and give you more and better information.

 

[Raj]

We do have some Luger experts that hang around but I am not one of them (not even close) but I will tell you what little I know. It was made by DWM - Deutsche Waffen-und Munitionsfabriken (German Weapons and Munitions Works) headquartered in Berlin.

It was not used by the military because it has NO military proof marks on it. The two proofs that I see are Commercial proof marks. It was made to be exported which is why it says GERMANY on the side of it.

I can't say for sure but it looks like it has been reblued at some time in its life, that is just my opinion because the marking are not "crisp". There is no way to tell when it was made by the serial number because of the way they were used. Serial numbers started with 1 and ran through 9999, then they started over. I will not even venture a guess on value.

Hopefully some of the real experts will show up and give you more and better information.

Thanks, GD moody. Yeah it was that crazy re-numbering scheme that stymied me. I think I read somewhere that the cursive letter indicates which re-numbering cycle it’s into, but I may have that wrong.

 

[gdmoody]

Yep. it fits right in there, then when the got to "Z", I understand that they started back with "AA".

 

[Raj]

Somebody, maybe on this forum, did an extensive chart of Luger serial nos and info, but I couldn’t make anything out of it.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

I also believe it has been refinished.

 

[nmckenzie]

I also believe it has been refinished.

The rounded forward upper corners of the receiver/barrel extension are evidence of rebluing, and of the receiver's date having been scrubbed. I believe the pistol is a 1920 Commercial (no military proofs as pointed out by GD Moody), of which many thousands were produced from stock and parts in DWM inventory after the Armistice. Without military contracts to fill, assembling and refurbishing pistols for export kept DWM in business. The 1920s had four digit serial numbers, the letter suffix changing as noted by GD. Caliber was supposed to be 7.65mm - as dictated by the Treaty of Versailles, but I imagine a few 9mms slipped through.

Edit: Interestingly, the OP's pistol doesn't seem to have the stock lug found on most Lugers.

 

[Raj]

Thanks for the info, nmckenzie. If it has been re-blued, how would you assess the “condition” in terms of the commonly used standards? I know so little about these guns that I have to ask, what is the lug, and how does this one differ?

 

[nmckenzie]

I'm afraid the $$ info I have is a bit dated - the latest being Davis' "Standard Catalog of Luger" from 2006. He lists the 1920's values as follow: Poor $350; Good $650; Very Good $1000; Exc. $1250. His take on rarity rating is/was "as common as they get". That said, keep in mind that there are just so many Lugers in existence, so I'm sure the values have climbed since 2006. As to the "stock lug", it was located on the lower rear of the pistol's grip, and served as an attachment point for a removable shoulder stock holster on the longer barreled Artillery and Navy Lugers. It also served to anchor the pistol to an armorer's bench fixture during assembly - installing the mainspring's a three handed job. Photo is of a DWM Artillery model with reproduction shoulder stock/holster attached.

 

[nmckenzie]

If it has been re-blued, how would you assess the “condition” in terms of the commonly used standards

It probably falls into the "shooter" grade, which I suppose would place it above "Fair" - it certainly looks to be in nice shape, but where to go from there I really don't know.

 

[Raj]

Thanks, nmckenzie. I forgot to photograph the back of the grip but it does appear to have a stock lug.